Stephen
Stephen *'Number': 61572 (formerly 1572 and 8572) *'Class': Great Eastern Railway B12/3 *'Designer': Stephen Holden *'Builder': Beyer Peacock Works *'Built': 1928 *'Configuration': 4-6-0 *Dispotion:Preserved at The NRM Stephen (named after his designer) is a Holden B12 locomotive who lives at Copley Hill. Bio Stephen was built at the Beyer Peacock works, in Manchester, in 1928. Not much is known about his career before the 1930's, when he was rebuilt by Sir Nigel Gresley along with the rest of his class. He was soon sent to work at London, where he met three LNER Pacifics: two A4s, Herring Gull and Gadwall; and an A3, Flying Scotsman. He worked alongside them for many years, but when the Second World War broke out, he was transferred with Herring Gull and Gadwall, who was now renamed "Sir Ralph Wedgwood", to York. In 1942, Sir Ralph was destroyed in an air raid which destroyed York Station. Both Stephen and Herring Gull were devastated, but one day, in 1944, Herring Gull talked to Stephen for the first time, saying that he wanted to find a way to keep Sir Ralph's memory on. Stephen thought that this was very noble, so he introduced himself, and the two engine became good friends. On that same day, Herring Gull was given the opportunity to be renamed "Sir Ralph Wedgwood", and he accepted it. When the Nationalisation Plan took place in 1948, Sir Ralph and Stephen were transferred to Copley Hill, in Leeds, where they met Allen, who was then unnamed, for the first time. After this, Stephen became the engine who pulled regular goods trains and stopping passenger trains around the Copley Hill area, and soon proved himself to be a wise and helpful engine. However, in 1952, Stephen was involved in a terrible crash, which severely damaged him. However, thanks to the Foreman of Copley Hill, he was rebuilt, and given a new coat of paint. When Scott, the A3 Pacific, accused Sir Ralph of being an impostor, Stephen revealed the truth about Sir Ralph's backstory, and managed to persuade Scott that Sir Ralph was the engine that he said he was. Over the next few years, however, Stephen began to realise that the Modernisation Plan was already taking place, as he soon became the last working engine of his class left. The other engines didn't believe that it was happening at first, but when Stephen furiously shouted at them about it, they realised that it was true. During that time, Stephen started visiting Norwich Thorpe shed more and more, until he was finally transferred near the end of 1959. In 1964, Stephen was at Stratford, believing himself to be awaiting scrapping. However, with reassurance from Jerry, he learned that he would be a survivor, but would have to face the consequences of eternal life. Persona Stephen is a kind, wise and helpful engine, who always gives the other engines advice when they need it. Basis Stephen is based on a Great Eastern Railway Holden B12 4-6-0. He is based on the real No. 61572, which was preserved after its withdrawal in 1961. Neither 61572, nor any other B12, was ever actually allocated to Copley Hill, Leeds, nor was it named. It is currently owned by the North Norfolk Railway. Livery Stephen wore the apple green livery of the London and North Eastern Railway from 1928 to 1939. He was then repainted into the LNER wartime black livery, before being repainted back into apple green at the end of the war. He wore this livery right up until his accident in 1952, when he was repainted into the British Railways Express Passenger blue livery (which was never worn by a real B12). This was a short lived livery, and in 1953, he was repainted into his current livery; BR mixed traffic black. Appearances Episodes *A Great Problem Goes West! *Veto a V2! *Hawk, Aye! *Nigel, Herbert and the Cows *Hand of the Fair Maid! *Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine! *Christmas, 1952 *Scott and the Herring Gull (does not speak) *Birds of a Feather *The Legacy of Gadwall *Hawk Eyed! *Hawk the Hunter *Suburban Tank (does not speak) *Silent Night *Day of the Deltic *The Parting of Ways *Great Scott! *Fowler's Ghost *The Ghosts of Engines Past *The Last Run *"Tornado and the Last Run to the Cross" Books *The British Railway Stories: Tale of the Unnamed Engine Trivia *Stephen was named by Simon Martin's grandfather. The model originally used was quite old, which is the reason why Stephen is one of the oldest engines in the series. *Stephen has appeared in every episode in series, and is currently the only engine to do so. *Stephen was once in BR Express Passenger Blue, albeit the real class and engine never carrying this livery. *According to Simon Martin, Stephen was originally going to be the narrator of The British Railway Series, and would be telling people the stories in the present day. This feature is to be reinstated in the books. *Stephen carried the most liveries in the British Railway Stories but in real life Scott has the most liveries. Gallery Stephen illustrated by Dean Walker.png|Stephen as illustrated by Dean Walker AGreatProblemGoesWest3.jpg|Stephen in LNER apple green Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine1.jpg|Stephen in BR Express Passenger blue AGreatProblemGoesWest2.jpg|Stephen with Allen and Sir Ralph Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine5.jpg|Stephen in blue again Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine4.jpg|Stephen returns in episode 6. Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine3.jpg|Stephen's old tender Hawk, Aye2.jpg|Allen and Stephen converse Hand of the Fair Maid2.jpg|You won't win, Allen. Christmas, 1952 4.jpg|Stephen in the shed Christmas, 1952 1.jpg|Stephen and Tavish from above Allen and Stephen Nameboards.jpg|Allen and Stephen's nameboards Stephen.jpg|Stephen's Original Face|link=Stephen 6.jpg Category:Steam Locomotives Category:Tender Engines Category:Copley Hill Residents Category:Eastern Region Category:Preserved Engines Category:4-6-0 Category:Holden Designs Category:Tender Engines Steam Locomotives Copley Hill Residents Peppercorn Designs Eastern Region 4-6-2 Cut-Up Engines Preserved Engines Organization Blog posts Copley Hill Visitors Gresley Designs Episodes Forums General wiki templates Help Template documentation